Lady from the Stars
by Kiki-sunstar
Summary: A female alien lands in Middle Earth and meets Faramir. They must save Middle-Earth from an alien invasion before it's too late, but working together creates sparks...RR!
1. A Chance Encounter

A/N: All the things in this story are property of Tolkien, except for Kalelia who is all mine! I hope you enjoy it! And leave a review and tell me how I am doing! 

Kalelia clicked a few buttons on the control panel in front of her. The lights on one of the pressure monitors flickered momentarily, and she flipped a few more switches above her head. 

"I love the auto-pilot function," she whispered to herself as she rose from the pilot's seat, "It's so useful."

Kalelia walked towards the rear of the cockpit; a door whooshed open and she stepped into her living quarters. Her spaceship wasn't among the biggest or the fastest; in fact, it was a rather old single-pilot craft that gleamed white and gold on the outside. She liked it precisely the way it was, though, with its patched-up wiring and navigational system that didn't work half the time. Upon inheriting the ship from her father, she had renamed it the _Intrepid_, packed her belongings into it and started her voyage across space. 

She strode across the room to her mirror and smiled at her reflection. Her long, bright blue hair fell across her face, complementing her dewy green skin. She was wearing what she always did, a shimmery green flowing shift dress that reached her knees over tight black leggings, heavy black boots and a small laser gun strapped to her thigh. She didn't like carrying a weapon, but had learned in her visits to many planets that some species were less than friendly.

Kalelia sighed and sat on her bed. Rubbing the silver bracers she wore on her arms, she thought back to the last planet she had landed on, hoping to make contact with a friendly race. They were afraid of her, it seemed. Alien, they had called her. They chased her back to her ship when she tried to approach them. When she left her home planet in search of adventure, she didn't have a specific destination in mind, but she certainly didn't expect there to be so many unfriendly planets in the galaxy. She looked in the mirror again and adjusted the silver coronet she wore in her soft hair, which was a symbol of her high status among the Rhygerians. How she missed her father and her people...and she'd never see them again...

A shrill beeping sound coming from the cockpit woke her from her thoughts. She stood quickly and went to the source of the sound, the warning display.

"Huh, looks like a wing fin is coming loose. No worries, I can repair it when I get to...oh, no! I'm way off course! Stupid navigational system!" Kalelia groaned as she hit the side of the control panel, then frantically pushed several buttons, but to no avail. "Well, looks like I'll have to land on the nearest inhabited planet." Glancing at a monitor, she was relieved to find one nearby.

She dropped into the pilot's seat and gripped the steering wheel tightly. "This is going to be a tough landing," she muttered, "bring it on!" The ship rocked as it entered the atmosphere, hurtling towards the earth. She braked just before slamming into a grove of trees, sending leaves and birds flying. 

Once the ship came to a complete halt, Kalelia peeked out from behind her fingers, having covered her face before landing. "Not too bad," she said softly. Pressing the hatch release, Kalelia nervously stuck her head out the door of her craft, surveying her surroundings. It was a lush, green landscape that greeted her. Tall trees rose above her, only showing patches of a blue sky. 'Hmm, not a bad place to land, either,' she thought to herself. 'Time to do some exploring.'

She took a moment to check that she had her usual belongings; her laser gun remained strapped to her thigh, but she wrapped a dark blue velvety cloak around herself and secured it with a silver pin. She attached a tracking device to her bracer that connected her to her ship, and grabbed her transformer. This ingenious device, carried by all interstellar travellers of her species, allowed her to take on different appearances, and certainly came in handy that one time she met the Grogons, a race of three-armed slugs.

Kalelia began to walk north, following what looked like an old path. She continued on for quite some time, becoming weary as the sun rose into the afternoon sky. Then a voice, though far away, caught her attention. She approached the sound, and observed what appeared to be a male of the species of this planet, standing in a clearing.. He had two arms and legs as she did, but his skin was a pale peach colour and his hair gleamed gold in the sunlight. She promptly punched a few numbers on her transformer and changed her skin to the same colour, only hers was a bit paler and much softer. But she chose a beautiful dark brown for her hair, and deep blue for her eyes, just as his were. She decided that her clothing was similar enough to his that no change was needed. Satisfied with her appearance, she approached the stranger.

She was on the edge of the clearing when he turned around quickly and drew a sword. "Are you friend or foe? Speak!" He ordered.

Kalelia, surprised, replied, "I am not an enemy, that's certain. I only wanted to ask you a question." The man lowered his sword and smiled a bit at the lovely woman before him. Kalelia continued. "May I ask, what is this place?"

The man answered, "This is the Grey Wood, in Druadan forest. Have you lost your way, Lady?"

Kalelia let out a sigh. "No, I meant this land. What is it called?"

The man gazed at her quizzically. "Why, Middle-Earth, of course. Are you not human? You have not the ears of an Elf, " he said.

"So you're called human. I see. No, I am not from Middle-Earth. My...land, you could call it, is called Rhygeria," said Kalelia.

"Rhygeria. I have not heard of such a place. And do you have a name, Lady?

"I am Kalelia. And yours?"

"Faramir," said the man.


	2. Peril in the Woods

Kalelia could not believe the beauty of the man, as he called himself, who stood before her. She gazed at Faramir for a good while before being roused out of attention by his next question.

"Then, Kalelia," he said, "You are from a land called Rhygeria? Where is it?"

"Uh..." she stammered. How to explain to him that she wasn't even from his planet? Did they even know about outer space and stars and other planets? "Let's just say it's very far away, too far to reach easily," she finally said. She fingered the silver coronet she wore, and ran her fingers through her chestnut hair.

Faramir then asked, "And how is it that you came to be in these woods, my lady? For you must have traveled great distances to be so far from home."

"Well, yes, actually," responded Kalelia. "I am actually a traveler and my ship came to your planet, I mean, land, by accident. Then I met you."

Faramir smiled and turned, walking a short distance to the edge of the clearing. There, he knelt and opened a traveling pack, withdrawing bread, cheese and a jug of wine. These he set on the ground, and, unclasping his cloak from around his neck, lay it on the ground. Kalelia watched him, curious. Finally Faramir motioned to her to join him on the ground and offered some bread. She sat next to him and spread her blue velvety cloak around herself. She sniffed the food, unsure if she would be able to eat it. It was so unlike the protein pellets her people usually ate. She took a bite, slowly, and it tasted good- chewy and rather bland. Faramir drank from the jug of wine and set it on the ground, and finally spoke: "Then, Lady, perhaps you would tell me the tale of your travels and of your people, for I take great interest in lore and stories. Would you tell me about yourself?"

Kalelia suddenly looked sad as she remembered what had happened on her planet before she left. Hesitantly, she replied, "Well...okay, I'll tell you, but it's a pretty sad story. Are you sure you want to hear about it?"

"Please do tell me. One as beautiful as you must hold my attention."

Blushing, Kalelia began, "Well, the place I come from is called Rhygeria. There are, or were, only a few million people there, but we were a noble race and built large cities out of emerald, which is a common mineral on our planet. My father was king of the largest city, and I was its princess. I was called the Glittering Emerald of my people. We were peaceful and prosperous, and we had technology that allowed us to visit stars."

At this Faramir gasped. "But how is it possible?" he asked.

Kalelia replied, " we had many scientists who invented ships that could travel far, and it was in one of these ships that I came to your land. One of my favorite activities on Rhygeria was piloting ships of the Royal Army, and I would fly to other places in search of adventure. One day, however, when I was away visiting a new planet, our sworn enemy, the Durgons, came in great numbers and invaded our planet. They destroyed everything and took all the emerald, which they wanted. Every piece except...one." With this, Kalelia slowly reached into her shirt and withdrew a green gem on a silver chain. "This is the purest and most valued piece of emerald that we had, and it has been in my guardianship since my mother passed it to me. When I returned to Rhygeria and saw what had happened, I knew I had to escape the Durgons. They must never have this emerald since it is the last from my destroyed planet. And I am the last of my people. My kingdom, my family is...gone." Kalelia hung her head and wept silently as a single tear trickled down her face.

Faramir watched her cry, unsure what to do. At last he pulled a cloth from the pack and offered it to her. She took it and dried her eyes. "I am truly sorry, Kalelia," he said. "It must be grievous indeed to have suffered so."

"It's not all bad," she replied. "This happened several years ago, and I have been traveling ever since. After I came back to Rhygeria and found there was nothing left, I went back to the ship I was in, and that my father gave me as a present. I left, and have visited many places since then. Now I am here." She smiled and handed the handkerchief back to Faramir, who also smiled.

"You were called Glittering Emerald by your people, Kalelia?" he asked. "In the language of the Elves of Middle-Earth, you would be called Rilma Calenondo then. But I have another name for you, if you will permit me to say...Elenowen, or Maiden from the Stars, for I also see the stars in your eyes."Kalelia blushed and looked down, whispering, "Thank you Faramir. It's lovely. But I have been rude, talking about myself all this time. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"There are not many things to say," he replied. "My father is steward of Gondor, a great kingdom of this land. We are not far from Minas Tirith, where he lives. I am a Captain of Gondor, and would normally be accompanied by some of my men, but this clearing in which you found me is a place I like to come to think, alone. Your intrusion, however, is most welcome." With this Faramir smiled again. Kalelia smiled back, thinking what a handsome man this was, and what a lucky thing it was that she ran into him. She leaned closer, gazing into his beautiful blue eyes that matched the colour of her own, lost in her thoughts. He began to close his eyes and...

*CRASH!*

Faramir stood quickly and drew his sword, shouting, "Stay behind me, Lady Kalelia! Who goes there? Show yourself!" Kalelia stayed low, but put her hand on her laser gun, just in case whatever came out of those bushes couldn't be beaten by a sword. She gulped, and nervously waited for the thing in the bushes to emerge...then a man, similar in appearance to Faramir, stepped out. 

Faramir sighed. "Belerian, it's you! Kalelia, this is one of my men. What is it. Belerian?"

The man rushed to Faramir and quickly said, "Sir we must make haste. Something is in the forest that we cannot explain. They look like animals of some sort, but large, and none that we have seen before. Hurry!"

Faramir held out his hand to Kalelia, saying, "Please come with me, for after this, I wish very much to show you Minas Tirith and all this great land."

She took his hand and nodded, and they ran off together after Belerian. She quickly glanced at her ship's monitor to make sure that it was still cloaked deep in some undergrowth, and, throwing her shining brown hair over one shoulder, followed Faramir to discover the peril that lay in the forest.


End file.
